Killingly school council to start its work

After a little more than a year of fine-tuning its mission, a Killingly group is ready to get down to the business of opening the lines of communication between the public and the school district.

Kilingly’s Community Engagement Council, which began as a Board of Education subcommittee, is now operating as an independent group with an emphasis on promoting greater understanding between the schools and the community at large. Council Chairwoman Laurie LeClerc said the group, which includes about a dozen members, is striving to foster a partnership that includes a wide range of participants.

“One of our first projects is a planned conversation that will allow participants to discuss the roles and responsibilities parents, schools and the community have in our educational system,” she said. “It’s an informational gathering session that will be the first step toward addressing those issues brought forward.”

That forum, made possible through a recently received grant, is scheduled for March and will allow attendees to break into small groups to discuss specific education-related topics.

In addition to parents, business owners and town officials, the council also includes school board members serving in advisory capacities, roles LeClerc said are crucial if practical changes are expected to be made. While the council’s discussions may seep into what’s typically seen as school board territory, LeClerc said her group’s meetings offer a different type of environment, one more conducive to a back-and-forth exchange.

“There’s not a lot of time at board meetings for those types of conversations — the board has its own business to conduct,” she said.

Superintendent Kevin Farr, who is also advising the council, said topics brought up at a community engagement meeting could be passed on to the board for more formal discussions.

“It’s a communications vehicle,” he said. “We take the feedback, like if someone wants to know more about Common Core standards, and move that forward.”

Nelson King, the council’s vice-chairman, said a survey of Killingly residents found a “disconnect” between the educational system and the community.

“Some said we were not providing enough information to allow residents to make decisions on issues like the school budget,” he said. “But we don’t want this group to operate just at budget time.”